Snohomish County PUD customers will be seeing a 5.8% rate increase starting April 1.

The PUD Board of Commissioners agreed to the rate increase during its March 5 commission meeting.

After initially approving a 2024 electric budget in December that included a prospective 3.8% increase, the PUD said in a news release it decided to increase the amount after an extreme cold weather event in early January drove electricity market purchases higher than expected.

Rates for PUD residential electric customers will increase from the current plan of 9.6 cents per kilowatt-hour to 10.3 starting on April 1. The typical bill for a residential customer will increase by approximately $6 per month.

For PUD small business customers, the proposed rate increase will only affect their customer charge, resulting in an increase of approximately $10 per month to their bill.

The revenue adjustment is necessary to address increasing costs to critical equipment like transformers, wire and poles, labor and associated benefits, and escalating prices in the electricity market. During the cold snap in early January, due to constraints on the grid, electricity market prices climbed 800% over forecast and caused the PUD to spend an additional $40 million more than originally budgeted.

The additional revenue will also allow the PUD to continue to make crucial investments in infrastructure and technology that will increase reliability, meet growing customer electricity usage and improve customer experience, the utility said.

The PUD has a variety of tools to help customers who have trouble paying their electric bill or are behind on their payments, including payment arrangements and extensions. The PUD also has comprehensive income-qualified assistance programs that offer 25% and 50% bill deductions for qualifying customers.

Along with the rate increase April 1, the PUD will complete the final phase of its base charge implementation for its residential electric service rates. The base charge applies per meter and is based on the type of building that is served and the amperage rating of the customer’s primary fuse box or breaker panel.

For more information on PUD rates, visit snopud.com/rates.